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Does Alcohol Promote Better Sleep?

By ExecuCare Team on January 29, 2013 / Prevention / Comments Off

Drinking alcohol to sleep better seems like a no-brainer to some. Why else would it be called a nightcap? But what researchers are actually finding is that this remedy is short-lived. In fact, drinking alcohol before bed can be much more damaging overtime than the temporary relief it may promise.

The London Sleep Center Woman wakes from restless sleep because of alcohol has found that alcohol disrupts our sleep cycles more than we realize. What’s misleading is how it seems to induce sleep. Alcohol can cause us to fall asleep quicker and into a deeper sleep. The problem occurs later in the night. Alcohol upsets one of the most crucial stages of the sleep cycle: rapid eye movement or REM sleep, where our dreams occur. Alcohol reduces the amount of time that we spend in this stage. In robbing us of this type of sleep, our entire sleep cycle is disrupted and less restful. The next morning we may feel the effects of this by being more tired or irritable. Overtime, if we continue to miss out on this crucial sleep as a result of alcohol, we put ourselves at risk of sleep deprivation. This can cause fatigue, weight gain, depression, irritability, risk of disease, aching body, poor memory, and inability to handle stress. Using alcohol too often at night can also lead to problems like insomnia, snoring, and the potential for dependency.

So, what are some better ways to sleep more sound? It may help to create a routine that tells your brain it’s time to wind down and get ready for bed. Such clues could be: drinking warm tea or milk, listening to soothing music, taking a hot bath or meditating in a low-lit room. This article on BBC Online mentions these five sleep inhibitors that confuse the body’s natural clock: noises, light, caffeine, a heavy meal, a hot room, and a busy mind. Aside from avoiding alcohol, try disconnecting from electronics to help promote better sleep. Skip the nightcap and turn off the iPad!

Stopping “Cold Turkey” with Amino-Acid Based IV Drip Detox with Minimal Withdrawal Symptoms

By ExecuCare Team on November 5, 2012 / NTR / 4 Comments

This study provides support for the use of an Amino-Acid based IV Drip Detox for successful “Cold Turkey” withdrawal from drugs and alcohol:

Amino acid-based nutritional supplementation facilitates abrupt cessation (“Stopping Cold Turkey”) of substance use by addiction patients: Reduction of withdrawal symptoms with minimal abuse potential

AUTHOR BLOCK *S. L. BROOM¹, S. OWEN², P. NORRIS³, R. MESTAYER³, C. GRACE³, G. SHEN⁴, W. HITT⁵;
¹Dept Psychol, William Carey Univ., Hattiesburg, MS; ²Ctr. for Wellness, Gulfport, MS; ³Equipoise Wellness Ctr., Gulfport, MS; ⁴GSIPO, San Diego, CA; ⁵William Hitt Ctr., Tijuana, Mexico

Amino-Acid Based IV Drip Detox

The use of amino acid-based IV drip detox type nutritional therapies for supplementing the nutritional needs of substance abuse patients has increased steadily with countless anecdotes of success, but there is a lack of statistical data on the efficacy and safety (e.g. abuse potential) of these therapies in chemical dependency patients.

Methods: A specific therapy called the NTR System™ is arguably the most recognizable and reputable therapy of this type in the addiction field[1]. This pilot study retrospectively examined the therapeutic benefits and unwanted rewarding properties of the NTR System™ in a group of 40 patients. The patients were adult males and females with addictions to drugs including opiates, psychostimulants, alcohol, and benzodiazepines.

The NTR System™ treatments comprised IV infusions of amino acid-based nutrients for 10 consecutive days ranging from 5 to 10 hours daily. Dose and time parameters were individualized to the patients’ specific addiction histories based on prescribed NTR System™ protocols. Self-reported ratings (1-10 Scale) of cravings, stress, depression, and anxiety, as well as measures of reward (joy, motivation, libido), were collected on Day 1 (before starting treatment), throughout treatment, and on Day 10 (after completion of treatment).

Findings: 1) All patients were able to achieve an abrupt cessation of their use of abused substances starting immediately prior to the 10-day treatment. 2) Self-reported ratings showed that patients experienced a continually increasing alleviation of the adverse consequences associated with psychological and physiological withdrawal throughout the treatment. Specifically, patients reported significantly reduced cravings ratings and the alleviation of several other adverse effects associated with substance withdrawal, including, stress, depression, and anxiety. 3) Patients reported a slight but not statistically significant increase in the measures of reward (joy, motivation, and libido ratings), indicating minimal or no abuse potential. The findings appeared to be most robust in individuals seeking treatment for opiate abuse.

Discussion: These data suggest that NTR System™ possesses a high therapeutic potential with minimal abuse potential for supplementing the nutritional needs of substance abuse patients. In particular, the NTR system™ provides nutritive support that may be particularly useful for patients attempting to stop using abruptly (“cold turkey”) or in relapse settings.

[1] The NeuroTransmission Restoration System™ (NTR System™) is a nutritional therapy comprised of amino acids & vitamins, and has been used on thousands of patients since 1988.

How to Get Addict Into Treatment with an Intervention

By ExecuCare Team on October 23, 2012 / For the Family / Comments Off

It can be difficult Two women, Intervention is sometimes necessary to get addicts into treatment. to get an addict into treatment. In the past people believed that an addict or alcoholic had to hit rock bottom before he or she would accept treatment for their addiction. However, it is possible to make a significant impact and to get an addict into treatment by having an intervention. Interventions are said to “raise people’s rock bottom”.

Typically, an intervention is planned out and practiced beforehand with a group of friends, family and co-workers who lovingly confront the individual about his or her destructive behavior. The goal of the intervention is to get the addict into treatment directly afterwards. This process is best handled with the help of a trained interventionist.

Interventionist Helps Get an Addict Into Treatment

The interventionist will help the participants discuss their feelings and plan what to say to their loved one. Each friend, family member or employer will be coached to gently tell the person how their behavior has personally affected them. They are encouraged to give specific instances whenever possible. Often, there is some sort of an ultimatum worked out that requests that the addict agree to go immediately into treatment or face some consequences.

Don’t Have to Hit Rock Bottom

The old method of hitting rock bottom is basically achieved by these emotional pleas to the addict to stop using drugs and alcohol. When the addict hears the people that he or she loves and cares about speak their truth, he or she is often willing to go to treatment. This is especially true if there are consequences to their relationship if they do not go into treatment. If however, the addict does not go into treatment, and the intervention fails, the friends and family must follow through with their stated consequences. This might include lack of contact or being cut off from certain funds or employment options. The family members are strongly encouraged to go to Al Anon to deal with their own feelings and behaviors.

New Prescription Drug Detox Option in Georgia

By ExecuCare Team on October 21, 2012 / Prescription Drugs / 2 Comments

Unfortunately, the need for prescription drug detox here in Georgia is on the rise. There has been an increase in abuse of prescription drugs such as hydrocodone and Oxycodone products such as Vicodin and OxyContin. These drugs are often initially prescribed by a doctor for pain, but can cause dependency and addiction. To obtain additional pills, hooked patients will go from doctor to doctor trying to get more than one prescription.

But it’s not just patients who are experiencing prescription drug abuse. Because of easy access to prescription drugs, doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers are becoming addicted to prescription drugs at alarming rates. Some health care professionals have even gotten involved in the illegal sale and distribution of these drugs.

Drug replacement therapy is also causing a problem. A drug like Methadone, which is used to help addicts come off of strong opioids like heroin, is being prescribed now for pain because it is cheaper than Oxycodone. However, Methadone is highly addictive with a detox that is said to be harder than heroin. To then get off of Methadone, doctors are prescribing yet another drug: Suboxone, which is also a drug with an extremely difficult withdrawal. The addiction cycle just keeps continuing with one drug replacing another.

We believe that the best approach is not to replace drugs with drugs. To be rid of a pill addiction, an individual must get off of all pills. This is why ExecuCare implements a nutritionally assisted detox for neurotransmitter restoration. This process brings the brain back into balance and allows it to function as it did prior to the physical dependency to prescription drugs. This is done without the use of prescription drugs. Our ExecuCare detox is very effective. Along with our stellar ongoing executive coaching program, it can pave the way to a solid recovery.

Detox from Methadone with Neurotransmitter Restoration (NTR) treatment

By ExecuCare Team on October 14, 2012 / Drugs / Comments Off

Detox from Methadone is one of the thorniest issues we deal with at ExecuCareARC. Narcotic replacement therapy is one of the most widely used treatments for addiction to narcotics. Yes, Methadone can effective in reducing heroin dependency or other opiate drugs. But Methadone itself, although legal, is a narcotic in which the body can develop a dependency.

Addiction to Methadone

Although staff members at Methadone clinics are required to tell their clients that Methadone should only be used as one of the many tools in a patient’s recovery process, this is far from the reality of the situation. What often happens is that Methadone becomes the primary mode of treatment with many addicts just trading one addiction for another. Illegal narcotics are replaced with legal narcotics, Methadone, both of which require detox. One of the main problems with using Methadone to detox from opiates is that it is a temporary bandage instead of a solution. It’s true that Methadone can be successful at stopping the withdrawal symptoms of detox from opiates. However, Methadone has three times the half-life of most opiates including heroin, thus making it much harder to get off of it once you become addicted. And it doesn’t take long to develop an addiction to this powerful drug. Like heroin or other opiates, the addiction to Methadone must be fed daily or the addict will face ugly withdrawal symptoms, some say even worse than heroin. It doesn’t have to be this way.

Detox from Methadone

At ExecuCareARC, we believe that the goal of treatment is for the patient to live a happy and drug-free lifestyle. This is accomplished through appropriate detoxification and recovery counseling to aid in maintaining sobriety. Fear of withdrawal is a common deterrent to the addict seeking detox from the addiction to Methadone. Studies have reported that 97% of people addicted to Methadone would detox from Methadone if they felt like they could do so without a bad detox. Our proprietary outpatient neurotransmitter restoration detox has been shown to increase the client’s health and well-being during the detox for all drugs while minimizing withdrawal symptoms and significantly reducing cravings. It makes ongoing recovery more likely to succeed by completely ridding a person’s system of narcotics and restoring healthy brain chemistry.

It is important to acknowledge that in addition to issues of chemical dependency, many patients have other psychosocial, emotional, occupational, and educational needs that must be addressed in order for treatment to be effective. To obtain the best result, the recovering addict benefits most by having a stable safety net of friends and family who can support them through the detox and aftercare period. This helps to oversee that they maintain a stabilization period until their life skills and positive life changes supporting a drug-free existence can occur. It is true that we can’t force a loved one to change, but with the appropriate treatment and support many addicts do decide to make the transition to a life without drugs.

The Dangers of Treating Addiction with Methadone and Suboxone

By ExecuCare Team on September 27, 2012 / Prescription Drugs / Comments Off

Dangers of Treatment with Methadone and Suboxone Right now, the dangers of treating addiction with Methadone or Suboxone are not yet widely accepted. Doctors continue to prescribe methadone to get off of heroin and other narcotics. They then prescribe Suboxone to get off of Methadone! It’s a vicious cycle that often results in painful withdrawal and/or the inability to become drug-free.

Recently, on a site discussing Methadone and Suboxone detox, a woman posted: “If I had known what I know now about Methadone, I would never have started taking it!” She had used Methadone to get off of Oxycontin, Fentanyl and hydrocodone. She went on to say how her doctor said he would prescribe Suboxone to help her with the transition off of the Methadone, but Read more →

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Take the First Step: (770) 817-0711

Does Alcohol Promote Better Sleep?

Stopping “Cold Turkey” with Amino-Acid Based IV Drip Detox with Minimal Withdrawal Symptoms

How to Get Addict Into Treatment with an Intervention

New Prescription Drug Detox Option in Georgia

Detox from Methadone with Neurotransmitter Restoration (NTR) treatment

The Dangers of Treating Addiction with Methadone and Suboxone

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